It has been a wonderful year at Inspiring the Future with thousands of events taking place in schools and colleges across the country and thousands of young people benefitting from talking to volunteers from the world of work.
Throughout this academic year, teachers up and down the country have used Inspiring the Future to invited volunteers into their schools to talk to their students and help with careers related activities. Taking part in events to broaden horizons, help young people to make better informed decisions about their future, and increase motivation and attainment in college and school students, volunteers have been sharing their experiences and knowledge.
Using Inspiring the Future volunteers, schools have been able to work towards achieving many of the Gatsby Benchmarks and increasing their careers provisions.
With over 50,000 volunteers signed up nationally, schools and colleges have run a range of exciting events. One such schools is Our Lady’s Convent Roman Catholic High School. Running a number of Careers Insight days, they saw 74 volunteers accept the invitation to take part in a series of 50 minute presentations.
For their STEAM Careers Breakfast, the UCL Academy found that 28 volunteers accepted their invite. Breakfasting with the volunteers during a careers speed networking session, the students at UCL Academy had the opportunity to learn about loads of different careers within the science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematical industries.
Year 11 students from St. Alban’s Girls’ School took part in a Big Interview Day, which was attended by several volunteers offering their expertise. Volunteers not only interviewed the students, but also gave some feedback on how to improve their interviewing techniques and styles.
Schools around the country have made excellent use of the NHS Ambassadors available to them on the platform, via our partnership with Health Education England. Members of staff from the NHS have been to loads of events this year, including 87 healthcare themed events. These have included assembly talks, careers fairs, mock interview sessions, and careers speed networking.
This year, employers have also invited schools to work with them via Inspiring the Future. Employers offering special activities this year include Bank of America Merrill Lynch, UBS, and Penguin Random House. From large-scale speed networking showcase events in their offices to bespoke volunteering workshops delivered in schools and colleges, these opportunities are exclusive to schools registered and active on Inspiring the Future.
Katie Seaman, from Pengiun Random House, said this about an event she attended:
“I really enjoyed the workshop yesterday and just wanted to say thank you again for setting this up. The school was absolutely fantastic! They were so well organised, all the staff were really friendly, and the pupils were so engaged too. It was such a great experience all around.”
We are anticipating many more activities next year with even more young people benefitting from the knowledge and experiences of Inspiring the Future volunteers. We are also looking forward to the launch of our Teacher Ambassadors group, who will ensure that the teacher voice is heard in the ongoing development of Inspiring the Future and our resources and offers for schools. Please get in touch with enquiries@inspiringthefuture.org if we can help with any careers related activities for you school next year.
We look forward to working with you again this September!